News

Spain is set to approve a 200 million euro plant in Galicia for state-owned Chinese carmaker SAIC, the parent of MG, despite intelligence warnings about its location around five kilometres from the Ferrol naval base. The factory will build up to 120,000 MG electric and hybrid cars a year from 2028 and create roughly 1,000 jobs. It would be SAIC's first European plant.

The FIA has removed all restrictions on Russian and Belarusian drivers, teams, competitors and officials in international motorsport, reversing measures in place since March 2022. Ratified by the World Motor Sport Council on 3 August 2026 and confirmed on 13 August, the change also drops the neutral-flag requirement and allows national symbols and anthems. Competitions still cannot be held on Russian or Belarusian soil.

Rolls-Royce has revealed the Ghost Savile Row, a one-of-one Ghost Extended inspired by London's bespoke tailoring tradition. It pairs a two-tone Midnight Sapphire over English White finish with the brand's first pinstripe stitch and a hidden embroidery of 250,000 stitches behind the rear armrest.

Tesla plans to demonstrate a driverless Roadster hovering off the ground this month at SpaceX's rocket test site in McGregor, Texas, using SpaceX-developed cold gas thrusters. The stunt comes nearly a decade after the Roadster was first promised, following at least eight missed deadlines and several high-profile cancelled reservations.

Uber and the Chinese autonomous-driving firm Pony.ai are expanding their partnership to deploy more than 2,000 robotaxis across five European cities. It grows from the existing Zagreb service to four more cities, with Pony.ai providing the Level 4 self-driving technology and Uber handling bookings in its app. It is the continent's largest robotaxi commitment so far.

Some cars are built to make sense. This one is built to make you grin. Our AutoNext Car of the Week is a 2023 Land Rover Defender 90 5.0 V8 P525 Carpathian Edition, finished in black and available at Land Rover Waimes with 37,900 km. Its supercharged 525 hp V8 fires the short Defender 90 to 100 km/h in about 5.2 seconds, it rides on air suspension and, registered as a two-seat light commercial, it is VAT deductible at €102,500.

Chassis number 0, the first Ferrari Luce ever built, sold at RM Sotheby's during Monterey Car Week for 40 million dollars, with every cent going to The Ferrari Foundation. The price blew past the pre-sale estimate and lands the polarizing electric Ferrari among the most expensive cars ever sold at auction.

RM Sotheby's sold a 2023 Ferrari Daytona SP3 for $17,825,000 at its Monterey sale, nearly $6 million over estimate and enough to make it the most expensive non-charity Ferrari ever auctioned.

Voyah, Dongfeng's premium EV brand, recreated the famous 2010 Mercedes SLS AMG Schumacher tunnel-loop stunt with its new Passion S, driving a full 360-degree loop at about 130 km/h. It claims the first unmodified production car to do it, with the full battery kept and no visual effects. The twist: the original ad was itself long doubted as fake, and Voyah got accused of the same, so it released uncut footage to prove it. In the deepfake era, the proof is the real product.